Throughout spring training, Sporting News will keep tabs on the top position battles around the major leagues. Today, it's a look at the American League East, including the Yankees' No. 5 starter.

Michael Pineda has the inside track to join Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka in the New York rotation, with Vidal Nuno, David Phelps and Adam Warren also competing for the job.

Pineda has not pitched in the major leagues since his impressive rookie season with the Mariners in 2011. Traded to the Yankees with Jose Campos for Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi, shoulder problems have kept Pineda out of pinstripes, and his recovery from surgery is the top obstacle between the right-hander and pitching in the Bronx.

The big question around the 25-year-old Pineda is whether he will be able to pump 97 mph fastballs the way that he did as a rookie, when he went 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 171 innings, making the All-Star team and finishing fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year vote behind Jeremy Hellickson, Mark Trumbo, Eric Hosmer and Nova.

Phelps is a 27-year-old right-hander who has done a mix of starting and relieving for the Yankees over the past two seasons, with a 4.11 ERA over 186.1 innings. He has fared better as a reliever, holding opponents to a .679 OPS compared to .732 as a starter.

Warren, 26, has made only three starts among his 35 major league appearances for New York over the past two seasons, and in 79.1 career innings, he has a 3.97 ERA and 65 strikeouts. The longest of Warren’s career starts was five innings of two-hit ball in Houston on the final weekend of last season. He was 7-8 with a 3.71 ERA in 26 starts at Triple-A in 2012.

Nuno made his major league debut last year, pitching in five games (three starts0 for the Yankees and allowing 16 hits and six walks in 20 innings, with nine strikeouts. The 26-year-old left-hander pitched 25 innings over five starts in Triple-A last year and had 30 strikeouts while walking two and allowing only four runs.

The Yankees are right to hope that Pineda can prove his health and get his career back on track. If he falters, Nuno is the most intriguing option, but Phelps would probably be the safe pick.